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I baked a batch of teacakes Thursday evening. DELICIOUS!

This weekend we are in Whitesboro visiting the grandsons. Had ribeye steaks off the grill. DELICIOUS!

Not much for we've had functions to go to (and unfortunately most have been appetizer type functions!) but I did get some grass fed beef at the market yesterday and will grill hamburgers for dinner today. Along with a big fresh spinach salad and some roasted new potatoes with rosemary.

Martha

I have no idea. I might go out for dinner today. I'm a little sick of my own cooking and the kitchen mess. With DH away I'm having to do it all.

I'm making an ole fashioned country meal of pinto beans, fried potatoes, corn bread and a big ole Vidalia onion...we have ate out several times this week and we are ready for some home cooking.

Joyce -Yum! I haven't fried potatoes in what seems like a hundred years but my mom almost always made fried potatoes when she made beans for supper. A lot of times we had coleslaw along side and onion to cut up to put on the beans. The second round of cornbread was the dessert with honey or jelly on it. I have come to like Cracker Barrel's habit of serving a cucumber relish with their beans.

Haven't tried making tea cakes but sounds pleasant and you can't beat grilled ribeyes.

We are planning on grilled hamburger patties like Martha, and I found a couscous salad with chickpeas recipe we are going to try for our side dish.

We're having a lazy Sunday afternoon and enjoying it. Charming, enjoy your time without cooking and clean-up "responsibilities".

Tooth pulled this morning. So I had a chocolate milk shake for lunch - that's what my mama bought me after a trip to the dentist so a bit of nostalgia there. Getting an implant - an 8 month process. Sheesh.

Joined husband at his son's on Saturday(he'd been there since Wednesday doing some tractor work) and played with the grandsons. Stopped on the way home for the tooth pulling then at work by 1 p.m. So...thinking about those teacakes still at home and wondering if husband is getting into them!!!

Have no idea what I'm going to do for supper. Maybe scrambled egg and a slice of toast...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: KeepYouInStitches,

I hear you, Sherry. DDS said my crown has a cracked root, and I'll probably need an implant. I'll know more after the 24th when he goes in and looks at things. I'm dreading it. Don't like the sound of an 8-month process

I'm fixing pan-fried tilapia with oven-baked fries, coleslaw, and asparagus tonight for dinner. I'm glad I have a toaster oven because it's almost 90 degrees outside and it's only 1:15 pm.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: CA Lori,

quote:

Originally posted by ~Joyce~:
I'm making an ole fashioned country meal of pinto beans, fried potatoes, corn bread and a big ole Vidalia onion...we have ate out several times this week and we are ready for some home cooking.

Without the fried potatoes, that was one of my mother's staples when my father was on the road. She would serve it with fried hotdogs.

An old fashioned wilted lettuce salad was part of dinner (from my own garden lettuce) with from scratch angel food cake with strawberries that we got from a local strawberry patch. I love our own local fresh strawberries!

CA Lori - SO SORRY! This is costing big bucks! And they threw away a perfectly good thousand dollar crown! boo-hoo (Mine is a bicuspid too close to the sinus cavity. Hope yours is where they can do the post at the same time as the pulling and bone grafting - that'll be faster.)

Think I'll stop at the store tomorrow for yogurt and soft stuff. Just cringe thinking about eating chips and one corner hitting the tender spot!!

I could've eaten with Joyce - pinto beans, fried potatoes, cornbread, Vidalia onion!!!

Our Farmer's market started Saturday and there's also a Tuesday evening market -- tonight's dinner was from the market -- pasta with fresh peas, green onions, garlic and bacon with a sauce of ricotta and marscapone and Parmesan and a big bowl of fresh spinach with green onions, bacon and a warm bacon dressing -- not sure if it was a salad or a vegetable but it was really good! In fact, I think that the spinach stands up to that warm bacon dressing much better than garden lettuce for it's not as "delicate" -- Husband Jim agreed with me.

Martha

Oh, and there was dessert, too -- homemade sponge cake with fresh strawberries and whipped cream!

Martha

Linder - your meal looked amazing.

I had a boat loan of veggies in the fridge, so tonight I made chicken cacciatore.

Martha, you're putting all of us to shame with that wonderful meal!!

We had baked sweet potato, sweet/sour sauteed green beans with red peppers, and a pan grilled chicken breast.

FFG -- I LOVE to cook and to try new things!

Martha

Oh Martha! It's just barely beyond breakfast, but I could eat that right now!

Last night I made "pasta something." As I've mentioned way too often, since retiring husband's social event is eating out. And we all know that that is not inexpensive. I wouldn't mind eating out a time or two a week, but not every meal every day - that's exactly what he would do. He is no help whatsoever with the weekly menu...so it's all on my shoulders.

America's Test Kitchen had their Cooking for Two 2012 cookbook for sale and they'd send you 2011 for free. (In other words, the cookbooks were about $13 each.) Like I needed another cookbook, much less two of them!

Armed with a new recipe (Tortellini with Crispy Proscuitto and Spring Vegetables from the 2011 book) and a shopping list I stopped at the store before going home yesterday. Small town...so I'd already decided to substitute bacon and ham for the prosciutto. Onion in case the store didn't have fennel - which it didn't. Not too terribly fond of English peas so thought... ah-ha! fresh asparagus cut into 1" pieces. When I got home and unloaded everything, I looked at my list. Yep ... tortellini was on the list, but not in my shopping bag. So I used penne pasta.

It was good! Since I made it "mine"...here's the recipe as I did it.

Crispy Bacon and Ham with Penne Pasta and Spring Vegetables

6 slices bacon, fried crisp
Some ham...probably 1/2 cup diced
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups chicken broth
4 ounces penne pasta
2-3 cups fresh baby spinach
6 fresh asparagus spears cut in 1" sections
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper

Cook bacon, remove from skillet to paper towel and drain off bacon grease in skillet. Melt butter in skillet. Stir in onion and cook about 4 minutes, stirring until translucent. Then stir in garlic for 30 seconds. Stir in broth and pasta and bring to a rapid simmer, stirring often until pasta is tender and sauce is thickened, 10-12 minutes. (Okay. I should've boiled the pasta in a saucepan full of water, but I also wanted this to be a one skillet meal. It worked by adding a bit of water twice during the simmering.) (Oh...halfway through the pasta cooking, add the asparagus. We don't like it mushy, but we also like it cooked more than half-raw.) Stir in ham, spinach, and cream and cook over low heat, stirring gently but constantly until the spinach is wilted - about 3 minutes. Take it off heat and stir in the Parmesan, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Plate and sprinkle with the 4 slices of crushed bacon. (I know...I started with 6 slices but ate 2 of them while cooking. Cook's prerogative!) Sprinkle with more Parmesan - and yes, I grate mine fresh.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: KeepYouInStitches,

Husband applied dry rub to steaks a few minutes ago. My sister-in-law gave me some new potatoes and green onions last night. I'll boil the potatoes and make "thickening" like my grandmother and mama made. Thinking about lightly steaming some asparagus, wrapping a few bundles with bacon and let husband put those on the grill.

Fresh from the garden produce is available so early this season. I don't ever recall having one of my "fresh dinners" in the month of May.
This evening DH grilled some America cut pork and steamed fresh asparagus out there as well.
I made parsley-buttered red potatoes and dessert was farm fresh strawberries over ice cream & angel food cake.
When we were all done I thanked hubby for doing the grilling and he commented that these strawberries tasted like they were from the garden! It was a surprise to him they were here already!

DH smoked ribs yesterday -- the best he's ever done IMO. We served grilled vegetables alongside -- little dips and dabs of different vegetables that we haven't eaten last week (cheddar cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, snow peas, and a few bigger green onions). Dessert was gooseberry fool!

Martha

A neighbor came by today and gave us some home cured panchetta. I'm going to add that to a marnara sauce that I have simmering, plus we'll have steamed zucchini.

I fixed a pork tenderloin last night and we had part of it left. I sliced it and reheated in BBQ sauce. Then fresh corn on the cob. Later we'll have strawberries for dessert.

I did a Cooking With Herbs class tonight at the kitchen store in our little town. I did a post on it separate under "Cooking With Herbs" -- they really got a full meal for their class fee.

Martha